LoneRanger Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 These were found on recent trips to a new Upper Cretaceous lignite and amber site in the southern US. Some unusual and/or rare specimens from the site are under study by paleo-professionals. Photos were taken through a microscope. The first is a dipteran (probably a sandfly) staring out with an evil look, like something from a nightmare. Second is an immature (wingless) cockroach with a creepy little eye staring at you. Third is a crustacean. It's a prawn (freshwater shrimp) with a frightening face and monstrous antennae. Cypress trees produce resin at their base and roots as well as along the trunk; the resin at the water level can capture diatoms and small crustaceans like this. Don't be afraid --- these creatures are all encased in amber! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Extraordinary finds! The prawn, in particular, must be very rare, which is saying something since fossiliferous Cretaceous amber itself is so rare! Great microphotography, by the way. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CousinLarry Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Awesome!! I love amber-encased critters!! Hope you don't mind if I post a couple of mine!!!! I have an Ant, and a flying insect that kinda looks like a big mosquito. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoneRanger Posted October 31, 2011 Author Share Posted October 31, 2011 CousinLarry: are these in Baltic amber, Dominican amber, or from some other location?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkbyte Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Hello LoneRanger, Those are amazing finds. Same to you CousinLarry. Thanks for sharing the pictures. Thanks to you loneRanger for opening my eyes with your information and knowledge as to what can be found in and around the area. Look forward to next year possibly hunting for a new area to collect. Bobby "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." - Confucius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lloyd Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 Note to self... I need to get myself some amber. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CousinLarry Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Loneranger - the fly is Baltic amber.. The ant is Borneo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vordigern Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 great finds, that prawn is awesome!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatta70 Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 Very nice specimens. The fly-like insect appears to be a trichopteran. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatta70 Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 Actually, the trichopteran is in the Baltic piece. Sorry, I didn't read the post from the beginning. However, I am quite envious of the cockroach nymph in Cretaceous amber. It shows strong similarities to the extinct family Blattulidae by the shortened pronotum. A better view of the femoral spine arrangement would clarify the identification. Any idea which site and state it was collected from? Thanks, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpt. Nemo Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 Beautyfull amber specimens ! Here are mine (from Baltic): Nématocère mycetophilidae Trichoptère Collection & Exchanges Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoneRanger Posted November 5, 2011 Author Share Posted November 5, 2011 In response to Mark's request, here are 2 photos of the roach's femurs (left and right side). There is a large, slightly curved spine at the end of the femur, near its junction with the tibia. Otherwise, the spines are small and indistinct. I didn't mention this in the original post, but there's also a very small (0.6 mm) wasp at the back of the roach, which is visible in the second photo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatta70 Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 Thanks for the additional photos. Judging from the prominence of apical spines located on the ends of each femur and the sparse positioning of short, femoral spines along the ventral femoral ridges indicates that it is indeed Blattulidae. If it exhibited more femoral spines of varying sizes, it would likely be from the Caloblattinidae. Very nice find. I don't remember if you ever mentioned where it was collected? Thanks again, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudeman Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 Here is a piece I got a few tears ago, two many insects to list (not to mention, I do not know the scientific names). It looks like a spiderweb from one end to the middle, in the bubble region. Here are a few pics... Troy Nelson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoneRanger Posted November 11, 2011 Author Share Posted November 11, 2011 It's hard to tell from the photos if there's a spiderweb in it -- but regardless, it's a great piece filled with all kinds of bugs. Do you know what the source area is? Baltic, Dominican, etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted November 11, 2011 Share Posted November 11, 2011 This insect-filled stalactite looks like copal to me. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roz Posted November 11, 2011 Share Posted November 11, 2011 Excellent amber pieces in this topic! Welcome to the forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatta70 Posted November 11, 2011 Share Posted November 11, 2011 I am not certain, but it looks like Madagascar copal to me. Some collectors/dealers say the copal has a Pleistocene to Miocene age however carbon dating suggests only a few thousand. I am guessing the latter is more likely for the majority of the collected material due to the types and abundance of inclusions that are frequently found. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudeman Posted November 12, 2011 Share Posted November 12, 2011 It may very well be copal, I am unsure how to truely tell them apart. I did purchase it from a daughter of a Professor who had passed away. As I was looking over their booth, a man stopped dead in his trackes because he knew the "work" of the Professor. Troy Nelson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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